| Course | DBA-8010 The Global Business Context Trends, Issues, and Markets |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Module 6 written assignment: international human resource recruitment |
| Length | About 501 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DBA 8010 Module 6
Send Someone or Hire There? Staffing the First European Role at a Small Ingredient Firm
Student Name
Doctor of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
DBA-8010: The Global Business Context: Trends, Issues, and Markets
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Send Someone or Hire There? Staffing the First European Role at a Small Ingredient Firm
The Role
The technical sales manager will visit the customer's European plants, solve color stability problems on their production lines, oversee quality at the toll processor and win new local customers. The role needs food science knowledge, sales ability, fluency in English and at least one of Dutch, German or Spanish, and comfort working mostly alone.
Staffing Orientations
Perlmutter (1969) described three orientations toward staffing in multinational firms: ethnocentric, filling key roles abroad with home-country staff; polycentric, hiring local nationals to run local operations; and geocentric, choosing the best person regardless of nationality. Collings et al. (2007) found that firms increasingly mix staffing approaches, using short-term assignments, commuters and local hires alongside traditional expatriates, as the costs and limits of long-term expatriation have become clear.
The Options
Black et al. (1991) proposed a model in which expatriate adjustment depends on factors before and after arrival, including previous international experience, training, the job itself, the organization's support and the family's adjustment. Our senior scientist has never lived abroad, and her family would have to move; the risk of poor adjustment is high.
| Option | Advantages | Disadvantages | Estimated annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expatriate: our senior application scientist | Knows our formulas and culture; trusted | No European languages; family reluctant; costly | $260,000 with allowances |
| Host-country national: Dutch or German hire | Languages, local networks and regulatory knowledge | Must learn our products and culture | $135,000 |
| Third-country national: e.g., a Spanish food scientist | Languages; may cost less | May lack networks in the customer's main markets | $120,000 |
The Choice
A host-country national based in the Netherlands, near the toll processor, fits best: the role depends on languages, local relationships and regulatory knowledge, and the cost is about half that of an expatriate. This is a polycentric choice for this role, combined with geocentric thinking for the future: if the person excels, they could later lead European operations. A local hire also signals to European customers that we are committed to their market, which an expatriate on a two-year assignment might not.
Recruitment and Onboarding
We will recruit through a food science recruiter in the Netherlands and through the European food technology society's job board. Finalists will meet our team by video and solve a real color stability case. The hire will spend six weeks in Vineland learning our formulas, application lab methods and customers, then return to the Netherlands with a short-term visit from our senior scientist during the first customer trials.
Support
To prevent isolation, the manager will join weekly calls with the technical team, have a mentor in Vineland and a budget for travel back twice a year. Clear authority to make customer decisions on the spot, within limits, will avoid the frustration of waiting on New Jersey time zones.
Conclusion
For a small firm's first European role, a local hire offers the languages, networks and cost advantages the role needs, while structured onboarding and support connect that person to the company's knowledge and culture.
References
Black, J. S., Mendenhall, M., & Oddou, G. (1991). Toward a comprehensive model of international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 291-317. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1991.4278938
Collings, D. G., Scullion, H., & Morley, M. J. (2007). Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives. Journal of World Business, 42(2), 198-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2007.02.005
Perlmutter, H. V. (1969). The tortuous evolution of the multinational corporation. Columbia Journal of World Business, 4(1), 9-18.
DBA 8010 Module 6 instructions, in plain terms
This written assignment covers international human resource recruitment. Expect to explain staffing orientations, compare expatriates, host-country nationals and third-country nationals for a real or realistic role, recommend a choice and plan recruitment, onboarding and support. Use a table to compare options on skills, cost and risk, and draw on research on international staffing and adjustment to justify your choice. Weigh cost and the risk of failed adjustment along with skills, and plan support after the hire, since the first year decides whether an international hire succeeds. Include a realistic cost estimate for each option, with allowances for any expatriate. Plan onboarding at headquarters. Weigh adjustment risk.
How the DBA 8010 Module 6 example is put together
The paper defines a European role and its requirements. A section explains three staffing orientations and research on mixed staffing. A table compares three candidates on advantages, disadvantages and cost, and research on adjustment assesses the expatriate's risk. Sections choose a local hire, plan recruitment and onboarding, and set out support, and a conclusion follows. The choice section notes that a local hire also signals commitment to European customers, and the support plan addresses isolation and decision authority across time zones. Recruitment includes a real color stability case for finalists, and onboarding brings the hire to Vineland for six weeks. A table compares an expatriate, a local hire and a third-country national on cost and risk. Support includes a mentor in Vineland and two trips home a year.
Where the marks sit in the DBA 8010 Module 6 rubric
The grade reflects accurate use of international HR concepts, a well-justified staffing choice, practical recruitment and support plans and doctoral-level writing. Papers that apply adjustment research to a specific candidate show depth. Including cost and risk in the comparison demonstrates managerial judgment. Plans for onboarding and support show the recommendation can succeed in practice. Plans that address isolation, mentoring and decision authority show an understanding of what makes remote international roles work. A table that compares candidates on cost and risk as well as skills makes the choice transparent. Concrete onboarding steps show the plan can work. Using adjustment research for one person shows rigor.
DBA 8010 Module 6 help from the desk
Students lose points by describing staffing orientations without applying them, by ignoring cost or adjustment risk or by stopping at the hiring decision. Others forget support after hiring. Compare real options on skills, cost and risk. Use adjustment research. Plan recruitment, onboarding and ongoing support. Give the new hire clear authority and a mentor at headquarters. Compare the true annual cost of each option, including allowances and trips home. Plan the first ninety days for your hire in detail, from training to the first customer visits. A free first sample on your own DBA-8010 international HR assignment is available on request. Price each staffing option over three years, including relocation and turnover risk, before choosing.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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DBA 8010 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DBA 8010 Module 6 sample paper?
Staffing a small firm's first European role is analyzed in the assignment above.
What are ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric staffing?
Filling roles abroad with home-country staff, with local nationals, or with the best person regardless of nationality.
What affects expatriate adjustment?
Previous experience, training, the job, organizational support and the family's adjustment, among other factors.
When is a host-country national the best choice?
When the role depends on local language, networks and regulatory knowledge.
How are firms changing their staffing of international roles?
By mixing short-term assignments, commuters and local hires with traditional expatriates.